Kashmir : The Disputed One

Apart from certain similarities between India and Pakistan such as the winning of World Cup, Coke Studio and hyperactive media. Another thing is common is "Kashmir". In this article, we will try to understand the core issue of one of the most disputed region "Kashmir".

Understanding Kashmir

Kashmir is a word which reminds Bollywood about beautiful locations, Media about TRP, politicians about Article 370 (which was abrogated in Aug, 2019) and public about Nationalism (like during Pulwama Attack, people of India start attacking Kashmiris to prove their Nationalism). But nobody is bothered about Kashmiri people. When we talk about most militarized zones in the world, Kashmir is worst than places like Syria, Iraq and even Afghanistan. According to the report by a Kashmiri rights activist Khurram Parvez, there are around 7 lakh security personnel deployed in Kashmir in today's time. And these forces are not deployed on to fight on border. On every Friday, there are mass protests in Kashmir.

According to a report by Hindustan Times, between 1990 and March 2017, there were around 70,000 militancy related incidents in Kashmir.

In last 27 years, Kashmir has witnessed more than 41000 deaths comprising of 14,000 civilians, 5,000 security personnel and 22,000 militants. On an average, there are 4 deaths in Kashmir in a day.

People of Kashmir are familiar with the fact that they could face killing and end up in a grave anytime. But neither Government of India nor people of India seem to be bothered about the happenings in Kashmir. The fact is that the tragic state of Kashmir has been now reduced to a comedy on TV. The sufferings of the people of Kashmir has now become a source of entertainment for people of India.

Why is the air in Kashmir filled with the sound of guns ?

Why people of Kashmir have not got freedom from violence even after the 70 years of dispute ?

On June 28, 2019, Home Minister "Amit Shah" gave a statement in parliament saying Article 370 is not permanent.

History of Kashmir

Let's first get into the little history of Kashmir. The story starts from back to India's Independence, about 73 years ago. India received Independence from British rule in 1947, but most areas in India were divided into princely states. At that time, both Sardar Patel and Jinnah were trying to get the rulers of these states into India and Pakistan respectively. Sardar Patel (also known as the Iron man of the India) was slowly including these states into India using his diplomacy skills but was facing difficulty with Hyderabad, Junagarh and Kashmir. The biggest issue among these states was not Kashmir but Hyderabad. Sardar Patel himself did not have much interest in Kashmir with more than 80% of Muslim population. Kashmir was closer to Pakistan. In a letter from Sardar Patel to Baldev Singh, he had indicated "if Kashmir decides to join the other dominion (Pakistan)", he would accept the fact. But Nehru played a big rule in stopping the division of Kashmir from India. Being a Kashmir pandit, Nehru wanted Kashmir to be in India as that would prove that Jinnah's Two-nation theory wrong. Also Gandhi wanted Kashmir to be a part of India as he wanted to prove that a Muslim majority state can successfully be a part of secular India.

At that time, Nehru had a close friendship with a very well known Kashmiri politician Sheikh Abdullah. Hari Singh, the ruler of Kashmir, was insecure with the friendship of Nehru and Sheikh Abdullah. Because of this reason, Hari Singh did not want Kashmir to be a part of India as he feared his powers might be given to Sheikh Abdullah by Nehru. Maharaja Hari Singh, being a Hindu, also did not want to merge Kashmir with Pakistan either and thus wanted to keep Kashmir independent. Hari Singh sent a standstill agreement to both India and Pakistan which favoured continuing discussions until future of Kashmir is decided. Pakistan signed the agreement sent by the Hari Singh while India invited the Kashmiri Government for negotiation. In between this, Pakistan invaded Kashmir. At that time, Hari Singh sought military assistance from India. But India's governor general said that it would be dangerous to send troops to a neutral state unless Kashmir decides to be a part of India. This led to the signing of the instrument of accession between India and Kashmir, according to which Kashmir joined India. The issue of Kashmir led to the first war between India and Pakistan. When this issue came into the eyes of United Nations, a resolution was passed on Aug 13, 1948, asking both nations to withdraw their forces and India to keep minimum military presence in Kashmir. Once that happened, a referendum was to be held allowing people of Kashmir to decide their political future. This agreement led to Article 370.

Till now, neither has the situation in Kashmir improved nor have the Kashmiri people got their referendum, resulting in the partition of Kashmir and formation of "Azaad Kashmir" in Pakistan.

Kashmir has now become a major topic of dispute between India and Pakistan. Very few people are aware of the issues faced by Kashmir and its people. There are more than 403 news channels in India, but none in Kashmir. No local television news is allowed by the government till 2019.

When it comes to Kashmir, nobody has a clear idea of what the actual story is except Kashmiri people.